Malibu Nights--Part 9

By Nancy F. Thysell (the Nifty Lady)

###

Monday, 3:30 p.m.-Rampart Emergency Hospital

JoAnne DeSoto rushed through the automatic doors to the ER and went directly to the base station.

"Dixie!" she called as she neared the head nurse, Dixie McCall. "Where's Roy? Is he all right?"

Dix looked up from her paperwork at JoAnne's approach and smiled.

"Don't worry. He's doing fine. Dr. Brackett's going to admit him overnight for observation. He has had a mild concussion and a little smoke inhalation. Other than that he's doing well."

JoAnne visibly relaxed. "Can I see him?"

"Not just yet. Captain Stanley and the rest of the men are in the staff lounge. Why don't you go wait with them?" Dixie suggested.

"Okay. I will. Uh…Dix? How's Johnny?"

Dixie frowned. "I'm not sure, JoAnne. Dr. Early's in there with him now. He was shot."

JoAnne paled and reached out to steady herself with the desk.

"Shot?" she whispered hoarsely. "How? Who shot him?"

"I don't know. I overheard Mike Stoker say something about tackling an arsonist. Why don't you go talk to him? They're all waiting for news on both Johnny and Roy."

"Okay. Thanks." JoAnne felt numb as she made her way down the hall to the lounge. She couldn't believe that anyone could have shot their friend like that. It was incomprehensible.

As she opened the door to the lounge, a whole room of men turned their eyes to look at her. She recognized most of them. There were the members of Roy's shift plus another half dozen or so off-duty firemen who had heard of the incident and were there for moral support. Captain Stanley came forth and took JoAnne's hands.

"Hi JoAnne. How are you doing?" he asked kindly as he led her to a chair at the table. Before she could answer, someone else placed a Styrofoam cup of coffee in front her.

"I'll be okay, once I see Roy with my own eyes. What happened Hank? How did he get hurt?" Her eyes begged for the truth.

Captain Stanley glanced nervously at the assembled group of firefighters. Most of them already knew the circumstances of the fire. Hank cleared his throat before he began, "The fire we responded to was set by an arsonist. For some reason he attacked both Roy and John. He knocked Roy unconscious and took his oxygen. That's why he has a concussion and smoke inhalation. The arsonist also stole his turnout gear and then apparently attacked Johnny."

"Dixie said Johnny was shot. Is it bad?" JoAnne asked anxiously.

Hank shook his head. "I don't think so. But we'll know more when Dr. Early finishes his examination."

JoAnne nodded, accepting the vague answer. Then it occurred to her that Krys wasn't there.

"Did anyone call Krys?" she asked expectantly. Now Hank shook his head.

"No, no one had her number. We didn't know how to reach her," the Captain admitted sadly. "Do you know how to get in touch with her?"

"I think I have her work number with me," JoAnne replied. "Would you like me to call her Hank?"

"If you don't mind. I mean, she's not the official contact in case of an emergency in Johnny's file. You and Roy are," Hank stated simply.

"I don't mind. I wonder if I should wait until he's been moved to a room?" she asked tentatively.

"If you call now, he may be in his own room by the time she could get here," Mike Stoker offered as a suggestion. JoAnne turned to the quiet engineer.

"Thank you, Mike. I think you may be right. I'll go call right away." With that JoAnne rose from the table and crossed the lounge to make her way to the payphone. She wondered how Krys would react to this news. And in a way, she thought that this would be a test of Krys' ability to deal with the dangers of a fireman's life.

###

Monday, 4:00 p.m.-En Route to Rampart Emergency Hospital

Krys was headed down the 405 from her job via a cab as soon as she had received the phone call from JoAnne. She had initially felt paralyzed with fear but JoAnne assured her that the prognosis was good. Her boss, Jason Robinson, was understanding of her need to leave early. She often wondered how she had managed to get such a good employer. She hated the fact that she still couldn't drive and couldn't wait to get her casts removed. Dr. O'Dell had told her they would be removed next week. She was becoming impatient to have them off. She yearned to take a long, hot soak in the tub. The sponge bathes were not that satisfying.

She watched as the dollars click up on the cab's meter. Mr. Robinson had given her a fifty-dollar bill to cover the cab ride. Now she hoped that it would be enough to cover the fare. She was relieved as the driver left the interstate and pulled on the boulevard and she could see the multistory structure of Rampart nearby. Within moments he was dropping her off at the entrance to the hospital. She paid the driver and made her way into hospitals' lobby.

She wasn't really sure where to go. JoAnne had told her that Roy and Johnny were being admitted. She saw the information desk and hobbled over to it.

"May I help you, Miss?" the elderly receptionist asked.

"I'm looking for a couple of patients. Roy DeSoto and John Gage. Can you tell me what room they're in?"

The woman began a slow process of checking the printout of the admission's slip.

"I'm sorry Miss. I don't show either name on my sheet. Are you sure you have the correct hospital?"

"This is Rampart isn't it?"

The woman nodded her head.

"Could they still be in the ER?"

"Oh! That's quite possible. I do hope that they're all right. Do you know how to get to the Emergency Room?" the woman asked with motherly concern.

"No, not really," Krys admitted.

"Well, don't worry, dear. Follow this corridor to your right. The red line on the floor leads into the Emergency Room. It won't take you but a few minutes to get there," she directed with her left hand.

"Thank you ma'am." Krys headed down the hall. She hoped she would see JoAnne as soon as she found the Emergency Room.

###

But JoAnne had accompanied the gurney that carried her husband as he was transferred to his room for the night. When they reached the 4^th floor, JoAnne waited in the hall as Roy was moved from the gurney to his hospital bed. She thought he looked tired when she entered the room. She couldn't help but glance at the empty bed beside his and hope that Johnny would be in it soon.

"So, how are you feeling?" she wanted to know as she stood by his bed. Roy opened his blue eyes and gazed at his wife.

"My head hurts. But my chest isn't burning anymore," Roy admitted. Eating smoke was a constant occupational hazzard with his job. He gave JoAnne a slight smile. "Where are the kids?"

"I sent them over to Susan's. I really need to call her and let them know that their Daddy's okay."

Roy sighed heavily. "Yeah, I guess you better. I wish I knew how Johnny was."

"Me too," as she picked up the telephone to dial her neighbor. "Krys is on her way."

"Good. Johnny will want to see her."

JoAnne reached Susan and she let the kids talk to their dad for a few minutes. As Roy was saying goodnight, a couple of orderlies entered the room with an unconscious Johnny on a gurney. They made quick work of transferring Johnny to his bed. A nurse followed them in and checked Johnny's IVs and took his vitals. Both JoAnne and Roy looked on and waited.

The nurse rounded Johnny's bed and approached Roy.

"Your turn," she said with a smile. "I'll be your nurse this evening. My name is Martha Lando, Mr. DeSoto. I need to get your vitals."

"How's Johnny doing?" Roy asked with a gesture of his chin. The nurse glanced briefly over at her other patient.

"Mr. Gage? He's going to be fine. I understand they had to put in quite a few stitches. Eighteen, I think," Martha replied as she pumped up the BP cuff. Roy winced at the tightness of the pressure, then he tried to relax as she took the reading.

"Has he been conscious, yet?" he asked as she noted her findings. She took Roy's wrist to check his pulse.

"I don't know, Mr. DeSoto. Why don't you ask Dr. Brackett when he comes by?" the nurse suggested as she shook down a thermometer and side stepped any further questions. "Open." She ordered and placed the thermometer in Roy's mouth. JoAnne had to smother a chuckle at the distressed look on her husband's face.

When the nurse finished her duties, JoAnne sat on the edge of Roy's bed and took his hands in hers.

"Hank told me the fire was caused by an arsonist and that they think he's the one who attacked you and Johnny. Did you know Mike tackled him?"

Roy shook his head, surprised. "No. No one mentioned that. Mike? Our Mike? Tackled him, huh? I'll have to thank him for that." Roy looked over at Johnny. "I sure wish he'd wake up."

"Me too, honey. I wonder where Krys is? She should be here by now." JoAnne was beginning to worry about her. She didn't have to worry long. A moment later the door opened and Krys, escorted by Dixie McCall entered the room.

"Hi JoAnne. Roy. Is he asleep?" Krys asked softly when she noted Johnny's unmoving form.

"He's still unconscious," Roy informed her.

While Dixie exchanged small pleasantries with the DeSoto's, Krys moved over to Johnny's bed and took his limp hand in hers. A thick white bandage covered his head, hiding most of his dark hair. She reached forth and gently stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. Johnny stirred slightly under her touch. Krys caught her breath and waited. But Johnny didn't move again. Tears welled in her eyes as her heart went out to him. She couldn't comprehend how anyone could do anything so horrible. Roy noticed her head drop and nudged JoAnne lightly. JoAnne slid off the bed and crossed to Krys.

"You okay Krys?" she asked gently. Krys shook her head slightly. Then she sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. JoAnne handed her a tissue and Krys blew her nose. She took in and released a ragged breath.

"Thanks. I'm okay. What about Johnny, JoAnne? Will he be okay?" Krys took Johnny's hand in hers again.

Dixie joined them on the other side of Johnny's bed.

"Well, if I know John Gage and that hard head of his, he'll be more than fine," Dixie assured her. Dixie decided to get a new set of vitals on her favorite dark-haired paramedic. As she pumped up the BP cuff, she noticed a slight movement of Johnny's head. The movement did not go unnoticed by either of the other ladies.

"Did you see that?" JoAnne asked of Dixie. Dixie looked into two sets of expectant eyes.

"Yes but don't get your hopes up. That could have been involuntary. I'll call Kel to come up and check on him as soon as I finish getting this set of vitals."

"Thank you, Miss McCall...I mean Dixie," Krys said. She felt as though she knew Dixie McCall from all the things Johnny had told her. Heck, she felt that way about the guys at the station and the doctors and nurses at Rampart. They were Johnny's family. She knew what they all meant to him. And that made her feel all the more like an outsider.

"Oh, JoAnne, I shouldn't be here! Why am I here?" Krys sobbed with an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy. JoAnne pulled the younger woman into a motherly hug and held her as she cried. Roy and Dixie looked on helplessly. Dixie made a silent exit to go and contact Dr. Brackett.

She nearly collided with the orderly entering with Roy's dinner tray.

"Sorry." The orderly looked at the two beds and turned to Roy.

"You DeSoto?" he asked and at Roy's nod, placed the dinner tray on Roy's bedside table. Johnny being unconscious and still attached to IVs wouldn't be getting a tray.

"Gee, I didn't realize it was that late," JoAnne commented as she looked at her watch. It was nearly 7:30.

"Have you eaten, sweetheart?" Roy asked with a touch of concern.

"No, I haven't. I don't imagine Krys has either but visiting hours will be over soon and I imagine the cafeteria's already shut down for the night," JoAnne stated.

"We don't have to leave, do we?" Krys asked anxiously.

"No, not for a while but they'll probably insist we leave at the end of visiting hours," JoAnne replied.

"But I don't want to leave until Johnny wakes up."

"I'll be here with him Krys. He won't be alone," Roy assured her. But deep down he knew how she felt. How many times had he waited at Johnny's bedside for him to wake up? Too many and it never got easier.

"Hon, I want you to eat your dinner before it gets any colder. Krys and I will stop and get a bite to eat on our way home," JoAnne told her husband. Roy complied by uncovering the plate of food that the hospital kitchen had prepared. He hated to admit that it didn't smell half bad. He was teasing JoAnne with a fork full of vegetables when the door opened again and the rest of A-Shift filed in.

"Hi ya Roy. How are you feeling?" Captain Stanley acted as spokesman.

"Much better Cap. Hey guys! Good to see ya," Roy told them as they exchanged hellos.

"Hey Mike. I understand I owe you a big thank you for nabbing the arsonist," the paramedic said appreciatively.

Mike blushed slightly and shifted uncomfortably the praise. "Couldn't let him get away. Besides, I was closer to him than Vince," the soft-spoken engineer explained.

"Well, I for one, am very grateful," Hank said proudly. The captain glanced over at the other bed. Krys had only made a cursory look at the firemen before turning her attention back to Johnny. He turned a worried look to Roy.

"How's Johnny?" he whispered. Roy looked over at his partner's bed and shook his head.

"Brackett's supposed to be here soon to check on him. The nurse said he had gotten a lot of stitches but she didn't say anything else. He's supposed to be okay but he still hasn't regained consciousness."

"That's not a good sign, is it?" Chet worriedly asked.

"Not usually." Roy agreed.

"Well, listen pal, we just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. You've had a lot of support from the department here today. Dixie ran the rest of them off. So be prepared for an onslaught of visitors and phone calls tomorrow," Captain Stanley said.

The door opened and Dr. Brackett made his way into the crowded room.

"What is this? A hose jockey convention?" he lightly joked.

"We were just leaving doc," Hank responded quickly as he herded his crew to the door.

"You bet you are. These guys need their rest," Dr. Brackett responded with a smile. He moved over to check Johnny as the firemen said their farewells and left the room. Krys stepped back from the bed and watched. As he concluded his exam, he looked up into the expectant eyes of a petite young woman with a Dorothy Hamill hairdo.

"How is he?" she asked timidly.

"As well as can be expected," he responded, "...uh...Miss?"

"Dr. Brackett," JoAnne jumped in to make the introductions, "this is Krystal Martin, Krys."

Kel's mouth twitched as he shook Krys' offered hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that Johnny hasn't awakened but he has a head wound as well as a concussion. He may be out for the night. But I expect a full recovery. Roy can tell you. That partner of his has the hardest head I've ever seen."

"As long as he'll be okay," Krys said optimistically.

"Well, I'm fairly confident that he'll have a full and complete recovery," Dr. Brackett said with a tight smile. "Now, JoAnne and...uh...Krys, I'm afraid I have to chase you two out of here. Visiting hours are about over and our patients do need their rest."

Reluctantly the two women agreed. Krys leaned down and gave Johnny a kiss on his cheek and whispered something in his ear.

"I'll wait for you in the hall," she informed JoAnne, figuring the couple might want a moment alone as she followed Dr. Brackett out of the room.

###

Monday, 10:00 p.m.-Krys' bungalow, Venice

JoAnne pulled the car up in front of Krys' place.

"Well, here we are. Are you sure you're okay? You hardly ate anything at the restaurant," JoAnne noted.

"I'm okay. Just worried about Johnny. How do you do it JoAnne?"

"It's not easy, I'll admit. I love Roy more than life itself and when he gets injured, I'm beside myself with worry until I know he's okay. He's in a dangerous profession. The risks are real. You have to adjust or it'll drive you crazy. If Roy didn't love what he does so much, I'd really be scared. But he does. And I know he tries to be as careful as possible but things happen..." JoAnne let the rest of the thought fade away.

"I guess I understand. Thanks for bringing me home," Krys said as she opened the car door.

"Do you need any help there?"

"No, I can manage." She stood up beside the door. "Call me if you hear anything?"

"I will, I promise." JoAnne vowed. She watched as Krys walked to her front door and unlocked it. Once Krys was safely inside, JoAnne put the car in gear and headed home.

###

Tuesday, 2:13 a.m.-John and Roy's Hospital Room

Roy awakened to a blood curdling scream from Johnny's bed. Roy was at Johnny's side in a flash trying to calm him down as the night nurse ran into the room.

"What happened?" she asked Roy breathlessly. Johnny was thrashing about, threatening to pull out his IVs. Roy was trying to hold his arm.

"I don't know! His scream woke me up," Roy answered, worry in his voice. "Johnny! Wake up! You have to calm down, partner!"

The younger man seemed to relax at the sound of Roy's voice.

"Roy?" Johnny asked uncertainly. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw his partner and a nurse hovering over him, holding down his arms. "What happened?"

"You're in the hospital, pal, attacked by the arsonist," Roy told him. Johnny absorbed this information, then his eyes grew wide with fear.

"Chandler!" he cried and tried to sit up. "Krys may be in danger!"

"Whoa, Johnny," Roy ordered as he firmly pushed Johnny back onto the bed. "You're not going anywhere. What's this about Chandler?"

"The fire. It was Chandler! Is Krys okay?"

Roy frowned. "Are you sure it was Chandler?"

"Positive. Where's Krys?" Johnny was growing anxious.

"Krys is fine. JoAnne took her home a couple of hours ago. You've been out a long time. How are you feeling?"

Johnny tried to ignore the nurse taking his vitals.

"My head hurts like crazy," he admitted before the thermometer was forced under his tongue.

"I'm not surprised. You have about eighteen stitches in there." Roy lightly touched Johnny's bandaged head. Johnny's free hand flew to touch the bandages and frowned which only aggravated the stitches. The nurse removed the thermometer and wrote down her findings.

"Mr. Gage I'm going to notify Dr. Early that you awake. Do you need anything?" she asked kindly.

"My head really hurts. Can I get anything for it?" Johnny closed his eyes and sighed.

"You're not due for any meds for awhile yet. I'll ask Dr. Early when I talk to him. You just try to rest for now. I'll be back as soon as I can. Mr. DeSoto, you need to be in bed."

Johnny opened his eyes at that and turned and watched as Roy got back into his bed and pulled up the covers.

"What happened to you?"

Roy turned onto his side to look at his partner. "Chandler knocked me out and took my turnout gear. I have a mild concussion and a little smoke inhalation. Brackett decided to keep me overnight, you know, as a precaution."

"Oh, so that's why I thought Chandler was you! I couldn't understand why you were pushing me. When it turned out to be Chandler, I was afraid he had killed you. I thought I was going to die up there."

"Well, we were both really lucky. Chet and Marco got us out before the smoke or the fire did us in. You're lucky Chandler was a bad shot or you might be dead now. That bullet only grazed your head."

"You're sure Krys is okay? He kept saying that I stole her from him and that now he'd have her all to himself," Johnny told Roy with concern.

"Krys is fine. I didn't tell ya but Chandler's in custody," Roy tried to assure his partner.

"In custody? That's a relief. How'd they catch him?"

"Seems Mike spotted him coming out of the building and realized he wasn't a fireman because..."

"Because he wasn't wearing dark pants," Johnny finished for him.

"Yeah. Well, Mike yelled for Vince and the guy took off running. Mike was closer to him and so he took off and tackled him to the ground. Then Vince cuffed him and hauled him off," Roy told Johnny. The younger man sighed a sigh of relief. He could stop worrying about Krys now. As long as Chandler was behind bars, Krys was safe.

"Roy, do they know who he is?" Johnny asked him of Chandler.

"I don't know. Maybe we'd better call the police?" Roy suggested. Johnny agreed. He reached over for the phone. "Do I hafta dial nine to get an outside line?"

"Probably. But the switchboard might be closed," Roy surmised as Johnny was unable to get an outside line. "I'll call for the nurse. She could call from the nurse's station."

Roy pushed the call button and the night nurse came into the room a few minutes later.

"Yes, Mr. DeSoto? Do you need something?"

"We need to reach the police about the fire we were at earlier. It's imperative that we talk to someone immediately," he told the woman.

The nurse could tell from the timber of Roy's voice that he was dead serious.

"I'll see if I can get you an open line. Oh, Dr. Early is on his way. He should be here in a few minutes," the nurse informed them and quickly left the room.

"Man! Roy, this is driving me crazy!" Johnny said as he rubbed his forehead.

Roy perked up in concern. "You okay?"

"Nah. My head is killing me."

"Well, maybe I can do something to remedy that," Dr. Early said with a smile as he walked into the room, followed by the night nurse. He picked up Johnny's chart and looked it over. After he completed a repeat of Johnny's vitals and checked the stitches, he wrote out new orders on the chart. While the nurse re-bandaged Johnny's wound, Dr. Early crossed to Roy and checked his vitals.

"You're looking well, Roy," he commented. "We should be able to let you leave this morning."

"That's good. JoAnne will be relieved."

"What about me, doc?" Johnny asked as the nurse administered meds into his IV.

"We'll have to wait on you for a while yet," Dr. Early replied honestly. Johnny just nodded and relaxed as the meds took effect.

"Doc, we really need to talk to the cops," Roy informed him urgently.

"What's up Roy?"

"The arsonist that attacked us is the same man that robbed Johnny and Krys."

"What? Hang on. I'll get you connected immediately." Dr. Early departed quickly. A few moments later the phone rang beside Roy's bed. He lifted the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Roy. It's Dr. Early. Stand by. I'm being connected to police headquarters," he told the paramedic. Roy could hear the ringing on the line. After a few transfers they were connected to the detective department. Dr. Early explained the nature of the call and turned it over to Roy. Roy explained to the officer that Johnny had identified the arsonist as Jimmy Chandler. They wanted to be sure that he wouldn't slip through the system by passing himself off as someone else. The officer took the information and assured Roy that it would be taken care of. Roy sighed with relief as he hung up the telephone. He looked over to see if Johnny had taken in the conversation but his partner was sound asleep. He smiled. There would be plenty of time to talk later. He pushed the button to turn off the lights, settled down and fell into a peaceful slumber.

###

Tuesday, 7:30 a.m.-John and Roy's Hospital Room

The two paramedics tried to be enthusiastic about their breakfasts but they ate anyway.

"Jo should be here soon," Roy commented as he pushed his eggs around the plate.

"Man, I hope I get to go home today. Roy? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure junior. What is it?" Roy asked, his interest peaked.

"Well, I was wondering about Krys."

"What about her?"

Johnny looked over at his partner. Obviously, he had been wrestling with these thoughts for a while.

"Well, I really like her." Roy gave him a disbelieving look. "Okay. I love her. Satisfied?"

Roy chuckled as Johnny continued. "Anyway, I've been wondering if anything more permanent would work out for us."

"You mean like...marriage?" Roy wheedled. Johnny made a face.

"Well...yes. I mean, she's really sweet and she is so easy to talk to. But, with her leg...I don't think she'd be able to share in a lot of my interests, like camping, hiking, riding, you know, the outdoors."

Roy considered this before answering. "Have you talked to her about these things?"

"No," Johnny admitted.

"Well, maybe you should before you decide anything rash," Roy advised. "You said you loved her. How does she feel about you?"

"I don't know. Somehow we haven't gotten into anything real intimate."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

Johnny crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, not for want of trying," he replied with a grin. "Krys isn't that kind of girl. She's..."

"The marrying kind?" Roy teased. Johnny's jaw dropped open and then he snapped it shut with a click.

"You're right! Roy! That's it! I've been trying to figure out what it is that's different about her. And that's it! Man!" Johnny marveled at this revelation. Roy just chuckled.

After a few minutes of quiet, Roy turned to his partner, "So, are you going to ask her to marry you?"

Johnny paled before the color rose in his face. "I just might do that." Johnny's trademark grin spread across his face. "Yeah, I might just do that."

###

END PART 9-CONTINUED IN PART 10

"Malibu Nights" ©1999 Nancy F. Thysell. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions. All rights reserved. No infringement on any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.